Heart Matters (11 page)

“But you can’t live in fear like this…”

“I will not tell Jeff!” she hissed, angry
now. “Will you help me or not?”

Mark chuckled even as she bristled. “Jess,
don’t be stupid. You know I will do anything for you.” He glanced
at his watch and covered her hands one last time. “I have to go but
promise me you won’t answer him? Let me take care of this, ok?”

She nodded. “I promise.” He stood up and she
smiled, titling her head. “You’re taller than you should be,
Ty.”

His breath caught in his chest and for a
moment he simply stared at her with a longing that he couldn’t
hide. He bent to kiss her cheek. “Be good.”

“I will,” she whispered, turning on impulse
at the very moment his lips touched her cheek to let them find her
lips instead.

He stiffened and then he was kissing her,
drawing her to stand in his arms.

Jessica wrapped her arms around his neck and
closed her eyes; a warm, happy sensation enveloping her. She didn’t
feel like this with Adam. In a sudden flash, Steven’s deep blue,
piercing eyes flashed behind her eyes and she gasped.

Mark lifted his head in surprise and peered
at her flushed face as if seeing her for the first time. A slow
smile spread on his lips and he almost ruffled her hair. “You
goose! Go back to the guy you love.” He flicked the tip of her nose
and chuckled. “He’s very lucky.”

With that, he was gone, leaving her
flustered and embarrassed. She was engaged to Adam, kissing her one
time hero and lusting after Steven! What in the world was wrong
with her?

There was no answer to that question even
after a swift walk to her car parked a couple of blocks away and
she left it at that. Crazy, she was going plain crazy.

“Hi, Jessi, guess who?”

Jessica smiled into the phone. “Hello, Niki. How are
you?”

“Madly in love!” her cousin replied with a deep
sigh.

Jessica grinned unwittingly. Niki’s display of her
emotions was absolutely infectious. “Who’s the lucky guy?”

“Someone close to my heart!”

“I should hope so!”

Niki giggled then sobered quickly. “Listen, I’m
throwing a masquerade party this weekend and I want you to be
there.”

Jessica bit her lower lip. She was in no mood to
party; she had a lot of things to plan. “I’m sorry, Niki, I can’t
make it. Some other time, maybe.”

“Oh, no!” Niki wailed into the phone making her
wince, “It’s my birthday and it’s a very important day for me. You
have
to be there! I will not take no for an answer.”

“But Niki…”

“No buts! Be there and don’t bother hunting for a
costume. I have yours ready with me. Ask Adam to come will you. But
you can’t come together. All couples have to come in
separately.”

Jessica frowned suspiciously. “What are you up
to?”

“Can’t tell. I’ve got to go now. Be there, Jessi,
please.”

Her cousin gave in with a resigned sigh.
“All right. I guess I need a break.” She hung up turning her
attention back to the costume she was designing for Ida. Masquerade
balls seemed to be the rage of the season. It sounded pretty silly
but she couldn’t stand Niki up. Besides, it might prove to be
fun.

***

The first sight of ‘Emerald’, after its long
driveway, as usual took Jessica’s breath away. She envied Niki and
Shari their exquisite home that was inspired by Victorian
architecture. The white structure was two storeys high and had
thick ivy clinging to it at several places earning it the name of
‘Emerald’.

The valet took the keys of her car when she
stepped out at the front steps and Richards, the family butler led
her to Niki’s bedroom on the first floor of the mansion. At least
ten women were already present there and Jessica gasped in surprise
when she saw their costumes. They were all dressed alike in red and
black satin gowns somewhat akin to a Spanish flamingo dancer.

Niki appeared at her side suddenly, her baby
blue eyes shining with excitement. “Jessi, you came!” She gave her
a quick hug, her blonde hair bouncing about. “Come on, get into
your costume.”

“Why are all the costumes the same?”

Her cousin giggled mischievously. “I have
come up with a brilliant plan. We all are going to dress alike to
give the men a wild goose chase. None of them will be able to guess
who their partner is and they’ll have to be with the right one by
the end of the evening. And we won’t be saying a word so it’ll be
harder for them to guess.”

Jessica laughed shaking her head. “You will
never grow up Niki Stanford. And don’t tell me the men won’t
recognize us by our hair.”

An elaborate black wig was thrust in her
hands and she stared at it astonished while Niki laughed. “We
all
have black hair, honey. And we are wearing eye masks and
a veil across the face.”

Jessica stared at her in horror. “I will not
wear this mop on my head!”

Niki kissed her cheek and said simply. “You
will. It’s
my
party remember. Come on, Jessi, be a sport.”
Jessica groaned out aloud but it fell to unsympathetic ears.

Half an hour later, Jessica was shoved into
the voluminous costume that had no shoulders. The bodice clung to
her breasts in a most revealing manner while several strings
crisscrossed across her back holding it in place. Below the waist,
the gown fell in layers covering the high-heeled shoes that she
wore. The wig was thankfully not itchy and went well with the eye
mask and the semi-transparent black veil. When they were finally
all dressed, it was really quite hard to make out their
identities.

Niki gave a satisfied nod and pulled Jessica
in a corner. “Jessi, I have a confession to make.”

Jessica fingered the strings that bit into
her near naked back and winced. “First you serve penance for these
strings, you imp!”

“Jessi, I’m serious,” Niki said
earnestly.

Jessica searched her face, a worried frown
creasing her brow. “Something wrong, Niki?”

“On the contrary. This day is very special,
Jessi,” Niki said shyly, “He’s going to propose tonight.”

“Who?”

“I told you I can’t tell you now. But that’s
the reason why I’m having this party. I want to see if he’ll go to
the lengths of searching me out from all of us.”

Jessica grinned amused. “You are the
silliest person I’ve ever met, Niki!” She hugged her cousin when
she blushed. “But a child at heart. You’re scared, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I’m really crazy about him. And he’s
so shy. If I say no tonight, he’ll never ask me again. I know that.
That’s why I’m both excited and scared.”

“But what if he doesn’t recognize you?”

“He will, I know he will,” she said with
romantic conviction. “He’s even told me since one of the rules of
this party is for the women to keep quiet, if he happens to find me
and propose to me while I can’t speak, I just have to nod and he’ll
accept it. Oh, I’m so excited. I hope I don’t mess it up.”

“Mess what up?” a lilting voice came from
the doorway and the cousins turned to see Shari Stanford walk in.
She was not dressed for the party, and her flaming red hair and
bright hazel eyes contrasted sharply in the room. She stood before
them, her five foot nine inches giving her a distinct advantage as
she looked down. Her pretty mouth curved into a mocking smile as
she watched Jessica. “I see you’re involved in Niki’s silly game. I
don’t see how you can bear to be so outlandish.”

Jessica felt Niki stiffen next to her and
smiled sweetly at Shari to lighten the situation. If there was
sibling rivalry it was right here at the Stanford household. Edward
Stanford had remarried after Shari’s mother who was his first wife
walked out on him. Shari was a spoilt seven year old at the time
and couldn’t come to terms with her step mother or Niki who was
born a year later. Edward Stanford chose to settle down in England
and took the girls with him but when they grew up the girls chose
to return to their roots. It was a miracle the two lived under the
same roof without scratching each other’s eyes out. Jessica knew it
was partially due to Niki’s self-restraint and also because Shari
was almost always busy at work. Yet there were times like this. So
she stepped in. “Once in while we are all allowed to have some fun,
Shari. Even if it is at the expense of our gracious figures.”

Shari colored visibly. She knew the jibe was
meant for the skintight dress that she wore revealing a more than
generous view of her skinny figure. That was the problem with
Shari, she was too painfully thin to sport a perfect figure. She
eyed Jessica venomously. “I hope you
enjoy
yourself tonight,
Jessica.”

Jessica smiled back happily. “I hope you do
too.” She turned to Niki and took her arm. “I hear the boys
downstairs, Niki. Let the party begin.” The two walked out arm in
arm leaving a very furious Shari behind. They heard her stalking
away and when she was out of earshot, they collapsed into helpless
giggles.

“Thanks, Jessi, that was priceless,” said
Niki shaking with laughter, “Shari is such a spoilsport. She hates
this party because it’s mine and that’s why she wants everyone else
to hate it too.”

“She is just restless, that’s the real
problem.”

Niki shook her head. “She hates both of us.
Me for sporting your designs and not hers and you, because you’re
better than her.” She tucked her arm in Jessica’s drawing a deep
breath. “But let’s not bother about her shall we? We have a party
to attend.”

The cousins descended the mansion’s wide
staircase together. Most of the women had already joined the party
as they mingled with the men who had come in their own brilliant
costumes. The men had uncertain looks on their faces while the
women seemed to be really enjoying themselves. The music was loud
and many couples were dancing while others were helping themselves
to the drinks and the cocktails that were making the rounds.

Some men looked up at them as they
descended. “When we reach the bottom, we will be claimed by our
respective partners. Keep your fingers crossed we get the right
ones,” Niki said under her breath, “Bye honey, and have fun.” With
that she hurried down the last few steps and disappeared into the
crowd.

Jessica kept descending uncertainly, her
eyes searching for Adam. She suddenly spotted him dancing with a
woman trying his best to talk to her. She giggled. He had
apparently mistaken that woman to be her. This was turning out to
be fun. She just couldn’t wait to see his face when he found out it
wasn’t her after all. She decided to follow them around and took
the last step down.

The sudden tug told her she had stepped on
her gown and in horror she felt herself head for the floor. A
stifled scream left her lips, her arms flying wide open to brace
for the fall. As though on cue, a pair of iron bands wrapped
themselves around her waist and she found herself slamming face
first into the hard wall of a man’s chest. Her breath knocked out,
Jessica gasped in fright with her eyes shut firmly.

“Are you all right?” The question was spoken
softly but her eyes flew open with immediate recognition. When she
looked up hastily, she wasn’t surprised to stare into the blue
depths that had made her speechless once too often before. Now as
she felt her mouth go dry, she wondered if they still had the same
power over her or was it because of the no speech rule of the
party.

Steven gave her one of his devastating
smiles making her suddenly go weak in her knees. She steadied
herself averting his eyes and looked down pretending to check the
edge of her gown. Sensing her predicament, he abruptly went down on
one knee to examine the gown for her. The action startled her for a
moment and then embarrassed her as she saw the amused looks on the
faces of people around them.

She stared at his dark golden head
indignantly before coloring with further embarrassment when she
realized he was dressed as a Spanish bullfighter. The classic
combination of black and red matched her gown making it look as
though they had deliberately chosen similar costumes. A few
friendly boos from the crowd made her wish the earth would open up
and swallow her.

Steven looked at her suddenly, freezing her
with a debonair grin. “No damage done,
seniorita
,” he said
taking her hands and drawing them to his lips. The intimate brush
of his lips on her skin electrified Jessica allowing her initial
awe of him to engulf her. It took great courage on her part not to
run away then but she doubted she could have done it while those
blue eyes were looking at her. A deep, red blush spread up her face
hidden by the veil and she tried to pull away.

His grip tightened while his eyes searched
her face boldly; his sardonic, self-assured smile jarring her
nerves badly. She cursed herself for her schoolgirl attraction to
this man. From the hoots people were giving them, she was sure it
was written all over her face. She should have asked Niki for a
thicker veil!

Steven held her, still down on one knee
giving no indication of having noticed her discomfort. “Since I am
down here,
seniorita
, I might as well stick to tradition,
don’t you agree?”

Jessica’s lips parted in astonishment. He
was
crazy
! What did he think he was doing with all these
people around?

“My love,” he began loudly, tugging firmly
at her hands so that she was leaning dangerously towards him with
her face close to his. “Please do not torment me any longer. On
this day, in front of all these witnesses, I beg you to accept me,
cara
. Will you marry me, my princess and be mine forever? I
promise we will live happily ever after in my castle in
Barcelona.”

Jessica choked, the deep scarlet of her
blush spreading down to her neck as the crowd began roaring with
laughter. She sent a silent prayer of thanks for her disguise. At
least no one knew who she was. When the party was over she was
going to kill Niki for her crazy ideas. If she had not been in this
silly costume, Steven Hart would never have proposed to her in this
ridiculous manner!